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Episode 39: The Thing
This week the bird boys kick off their selection of spooky flicks for the Halloween season by revisiting an influential cult classic that was hated when it dropped but has quietly become one of the most important and best sci-fi horror films. Get your flamethrowers ready and step out into the cold… it’s John Carpenter’s “The Thing”. Based on the 1938 John W. Campbell Jr. novella “Who Goes There?”, this movie centers around a group of researchers facing off against an alien enemy that can assimilate and become any form. This film is a masterclass in disgusting alien body horror.
In this episode, we talk about the movie’s cultural impact, the amazing use of practical effects, body horror, the palpable tension and psychological aspects of the film, Kurt Russell being a badass, John Carpenter, flamethrowers, whiskey, proper dynamite and flare holding etiquette, dogs dying in horror movies, the uncanny other, the amazing ending, the film’s reception when it was released, how it holds up almost 40 years later, and a whole lot more.
Plus, we dive into the horror genre as a whole, what makes us love certain types of horror films, the useless idea of high and low art, the importance cultural impact has on a film's longevity, the first “Saw” movie, “His Girl Friday”, “Dumb And Dumber”, “Blade Runner”, the film’s amazing soundtrack by Ennio Morricone, and mid-episode we realize that “The Thing” is basically just a Western (kind of).
We also rant about how dumb the critics were to dismiss this as the “quintessential moron movie of the 80’s” because… c’mon, dude. Really?! Also, we ask if the broad idea of “Classic Hollywood Cinema” is really the benchmark that we should be using in criticism today? Or at all? With cinema being an ever-evolving medium, should it ever have been something that you compare to movies after the New Hollywood movement? Hmmm. Much to think about.
“The Thing” is an incredible film. What else can we say? Go watch it if you haven't.
Next week? A horror/comedy from the master Mel Brooks and the incredible Leslie Neilson, “Dracula: Dead And Loving It”.
Check out the “Regicide” Facebook page and give them a follow!
https://www.facebook.com/regicidemovie
Here’s the teaser:
https://youtu.be/VJmjJneRzCQ
INITIATE BIRD PROTOCOL!
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram!
Twitter: @plmrdr @otismorrisdude
Instagram: @palmreadr @otismorrisdude
View all episodes
By Cemetery SoundThis week the bird boys kick off their selection of spooky flicks for the Halloween season by revisiting an influential cult classic that was hated when it dropped but has quietly become one of the most important and best sci-fi horror films. Get your flamethrowers ready and step out into the cold… it’s John Carpenter’s “The Thing”. Based on the 1938 John W. Campbell Jr. novella “Who Goes There?”, this movie centers around a group of researchers facing off against an alien enemy that can assimilate and become any form. This film is a masterclass in disgusting alien body horror.
In this episode, we talk about the movie’s cultural impact, the amazing use of practical effects, body horror, the palpable tension and psychological aspects of the film, Kurt Russell being a badass, John Carpenter, flamethrowers, whiskey, proper dynamite and flare holding etiquette, dogs dying in horror movies, the uncanny other, the amazing ending, the film’s reception when it was released, how it holds up almost 40 years later, and a whole lot more.
Plus, we dive into the horror genre as a whole, what makes us love certain types of horror films, the useless idea of high and low art, the importance cultural impact has on a film's longevity, the first “Saw” movie, “His Girl Friday”, “Dumb And Dumber”, “Blade Runner”, the film’s amazing soundtrack by Ennio Morricone, and mid-episode we realize that “The Thing” is basically just a Western (kind of).
We also rant about how dumb the critics were to dismiss this as the “quintessential moron movie of the 80’s” because… c’mon, dude. Really?! Also, we ask if the broad idea of “Classic Hollywood Cinema” is really the benchmark that we should be using in criticism today? Or at all? With cinema being an ever-evolving medium, should it ever have been something that you compare to movies after the New Hollywood movement? Hmmm. Much to think about.
“The Thing” is an incredible film. What else can we say? Go watch it if you haven't.
Next week? A horror/comedy from the master Mel Brooks and the incredible Leslie Neilson, “Dracula: Dead And Loving It”.
Check out the “Regicide” Facebook page and give them a follow!
https://www.facebook.com/regicidemovie
Here’s the teaser:
https://youtu.be/VJmjJneRzCQ
INITIATE BIRD PROTOCOL!
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram!
Twitter: @plmrdr @otismorrisdude
Instagram: @palmreadr @otismorrisdude